Gender and Crime

• Key stats for men offending more than women

  -By their 40th birthday, about one in three males have a conviction of some kind, compared to fewer than one in ten females.

  -about 50 times more likely for sex offences; about 14 times more likely for burglaries; about 8 times more likely for robbery and drug offences; about 7 times more likely for criminal damage; about 5 times more likely for violence against the person
• Explanation 1: Control - Heidensohn


  women have less time outside of work due to the dual burden, they are likely to commit less crime. Heidensohn argues that women are controlled in the work place, the “private domestic sphere” and the public sphere
• Supporting Study: Adler


  women having jobs and autonomy gives them not only an income but also the opportunity to participate in ways they haven’t before. For example, women are able to participate in the Night Time Economy in a way they haven’t historically. This has led to an increase in female crime rates.
• Evaluation of Control as an Explanation

  -Control over women has weakened significantly- but there's still a massive divide between men and women

  -Many women hold positions of power, both in their home life and in their work life
• Explanation 2: Gender 'deals'-- Carlen


  women commit less crime because they are encouraged to ‘sign up’ to a ‘gender deal’ and a ‘class deal’-Gender deal: the rewards that arise from a fulfilling home life, with a rewarding relationship with a male breadwinner-Class deal: the material rewards of working in paid employment, allowing a stable home life
• Gender deals: how does it lead to crime?

  Women who can't 'access' these deals are more likely to commit crime

  Because they can't have a rewarding family life or career

  Because they lack the stability of employment etc
• Explanation 3: Parsons- Sex Role Theory


  women should stay at home and be role models for children. Women are more empathetic, naturally caring and can understand deeper emotions. me are not good with emotions but are good problem solvers.
• How can we evaluate parsons idea?

  -Doesn't consider rising rates of female crime

  -Gender socialisation has become less strong recently

  -Evidence of greater diversity within femininity and masculinity recently
• The Chivalry Thesis - Pollack


  he justice system is dominated by men who don't take women seriously.

  -Police officers are less likely to arrest women for the same offenses

  -Judges will sentence less harshly

  -Juries are more likely to acquit women than men

  This is because their attitudes to women suggest that their offense is less serious.
• Evidence of the chivalry thesis


  -First offenders about half as likely to be given a sentence of immediate imprisonment as their male counterparts-Carlen (1997): Sentences handed out to women by the criminal justice system are partly influenced by the court’s assessment of their characters and performance in relation to their traditional roles as wife and mother, rather than simply by the severity of the offence.